Vehicle manufacturers commonly offer article carriers such as luggage racks as an optional item for sale which a new vehicle. Such article carriers are adapted to be mounted on a body panel of the vehicle, either the rear deck or the vehicle top, and the carrier is installed on a vehicle assembly line. A typical article carrier for installation on the rear deck is comprised of a pair of side rails each having a stanchion at the front and rear end and a cross rail extending between the rear stanchions. A plurality of load supporting slat assemblies are disposed within the side rails and are individually secured to the deck lid. A slat assembly typically comprise a sheet metal slat in a channel-shape which is provided with an end cap at each end. Each end cap may have an opening therethrough to receive a tie down cord for articles to be carried on the rack. A protective rub strip extends lengthwise of the slat and closes the upper side of the channel formed thereby and may be snap fitted into place to engage the upper edges of the slat. An insulating liner is disposed between the bottom of the slat and the body panel and fastening means are provided for securing the slat to the panel. It is desired to provide the slats as pre-assembled units so as to minimize the number of parts that must be handled on the assembly line for installing the article carrier. For this purpose, it is also desired to avoid the need for handling separate fastener elements such as screws when the slats are installed on the vehicle.
In the prior art it is known to provide slats for luggage racks with pre-attached end caps, as shown in the Miller et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,767,040 granted Aug. 30, 1988. The slat disclosed in this patent is provided with an end cap having a mounting member which is inserted into the end of the channel-shaped slat and secured thereto by a detent comprising a resilient tang in the base of the slat which coacts with a ramp-shaped recess on the bottom of the mounting portion of the end cap. In order to secure the end cap and slat to the vehicle body panel, a stud is molded into the end cap. In this arrangement, the entire end cap and slat assembly is assembled by the luggage rack manufacturer and is shipped to the vehicle manufacturer as an integral unit ready for installation on the vehicle body panel. A disadvantage of the end cap of Miller et al is the cost associated with molding the stud in place and further, the end caps which are defective in manufacture cannot be reground for recovering the plastic material.
The Rasor et al Pat. No. 4,501,136 granted Feb. 26, 1985 also discloses a luggage rack slat with a pre-attached end cap. The slat disclosed by this patent is provided with an end cap having a portion which is inserted into the end of the channel-shaped slat and secured thereto by a drive pin extending through the base of the slat. A screw hole is provided in the tongue portion of the end cap and receives a mounting screw which extends through the body panel of the vehicle and is held by a nut when the slat is installed. After the nut is tightened on the screw, the rub strip is snap fitted into the top of the slat. In this arrangement, the threaded stud is not integral with the end cap and is a separate piece to be added at the time of installation on the vehicle body panel.
A luggage rack slat with an end cap is disclosed in the Bott Pat. No. 4,170,332 granted Oct. 7, 1979 and the Mareydt Pat. No. 4,343,419 granted Aug. 10, 1982. The slat and end cap as disclosed in these patents are not pre-assembled and a threaded fastener is used to attach the end cap and the slat member to the vehicle body panel when the luggage rack is installed on the vehicle.
It is a general object of this invention to provide an improved pre-assembled end cap and slat for an article carrier which overcomes certain disadvantages of the prior art.